Another playoff game in Raleigh, another defeat…the script has been old for the last fifteen years but it never changes. Now we’re 1-13 in our last fourteen playoff games at that house of horrors, with every chance we don’t get another game there this series. Sure, we’re going back to New Jersey now for two games. Obviously, the effort was better in Game 2, though it wasn’t much of a bar to clear compared to Game 1 but the goals never really came other than Jesper Bratt’s opener when for once the Devils actually got off to a good start in the game and controlled the first twenty minutes.

Take a good look cause that’s the only Devil ‘highlight’ from Game 2 you’ll see unless you want to look up some more Jacob Markstrom saves, or even the couple of clearances off the goal line Brett Pesce did. Even Pesce playing his butt off against his former team couldn’t overcome the lack of offense. Ironically, the major concern going into Game 2 was our injuries on defense with both Brendan Dillon and Luke Hughes being ruled out for last night’s game. Honestly it has to be said even with Dennis Cholowski and out-of-favor Simon Nemec taking their place, the actual defensive zone play didn’t slide too much.

Of course, where we did actually miss Luke more than in our own zone was offensively, specifically the power play which was brutal again, even giving up a shorthanded goal as the Canes re-established control in the first six minutes of the second period with two quick goals from Shayne Gostisbehere and Jordan Martinook (does this guy ever kill anyone besides us in the playoffs?). With our hideous offense even that two-goal spasm proved to be enough, as the Canes would grind out a workman-like 3-1 victory, only clinching it with an empty-netter late.

I’m past the point of giving the Devils credit for trying…sure in a vacuum last night’s effort was good and clearly there’s a talent issue now missing half your starting defense and best offensive player and I suppose the 7-10 points we dropped going at half speed for much of the second half really doesn’t matter at this point since it would have been the same matchup anyway – but now it’s obvious once again we’re in a position where we’re just hoping to get a token win to keep up the franchise’s odd badge of honor in never being swept in a playoff series. Two years off from having one of the best seasons in franchise history, we weren’t supposed to go backwards but barring a miracle the rest of this series, that will happen now.

There isn’t much else I can or want to say about last night’s game, to be honest I’ve been so beaten down by the Devils’ second half I didn’t even bother watching. I’ve missed watching road playoff games before but this is one I just flat out opted out of. I did listen to much of the game on replay later on but obviously wasn’t invested in it. Even after hearing about Bratt’s goal and the Devils’ first period, you knew a Canes surge would be coming. To be honest, I half thought we would tie the game late then immediately blow it once again, because that also seems to be a staple of Hurricane playoff series.

Right now I’m fully expecting Friday to be my last home game of the season, because I’m not going to show up in the building on a lovely Sunday afternoon if we’re down 3-0 (which I do expect now, despite my picking Carolina in 5 before the series, even I didn’t think a sweep was likely) when I could be hanging out with friends instead. Quite honestly this team doesn’t deserve to have me go down with the ship anyway. 2023’s team did, even the 2008 team that annoyingly lost almost every single game to the Rangers and of course got eliminated on home ice, at least that team gave effort for the most part. I’m not giving them any credit for finally clocking in a shift for Game 2 when the odds were stacked against them and they were in full nothing to lose mode. Where was this effort from late December on?

I know there’s a talent issue…the lack of a pulse from the bottom six is largely on the GM’s failures both in terms of contracts he did give out, and guys he didn’t ultimately get or traded away. Defensively the lack of a transition game is also on Fitz – even with a healthy Luke and Dougie this team struggled with that all season. Without Luke and a rusty Dougie? Forget it. That said, I’m sorry but we need even more from our top guys up front than we’ve gotten. Sure, Bratt and Nico Hischier have the only goals of the series but by and large they’ve been invisible or ineffective for much of their postseason career. At least neither has been as bad as the overrated Timo Meier though.

It’s bad enough the $8.8 million man screwed up the backcheck on one of Carolina’s second period goals by pinching in when he didn’t have coverage. This kind of stupidity unfortunately is all too commonplace within the team at the moment…but what we are paying this guy more for is to score goals. And barring some great March streaks he really hasn’t been the dominant force we thought we were getting from San Jose, nothing close. Especially in the playoffs where he has two goals and four points in thirteen playoff games. His agonizing near-miss at the end just says it all…sure the puck was bouncing a bit, but there’s always another excuse.

It’s been a while since I’ve disliked a Devil as much…maybe Ilya Kovalchuk during the dark days of 2010 or Brian Rolston around that same time. Timo’s a bit of both, a disappointment in terms of being expected to be a difference maker and being anything but a la early Kovalchuk and a guy who relies on a slapshot too much and doesn’t actually have another way to score goals (or contribute to the team at all) a la Rolston. You’d think a guy who put up 30+ goals three times in San Jose wouldn’t be this bad at actually putting the puck in the net. He had 66 goals and 128 points in his last 134 games in San Jose, and conversely has had 68 goals and 123 points in 183 games as a Devil. From a point a game to about 2/3 of a point in a game, that’s just not good enough and the playoff production of two goals and four points in thirteen games is a major issue. Especially when you can’t actually count on the depth guys to add anything at this point.

Friday is definitely last stand time for this team’s season, everyone knows it. Sure a handful of teams have come back from 3-0 down in the playoffs before, this year’s version of a ‘team’ isn’t going to be one of those. Even if they ride the home crowd and a bit of line matching to a win in Game 3 and compel me to attend Game 4, who really has confidence that A) we’ll sweep all three home games and B) we’ll come through in any must-win late-series game at Raleigh? I know if this second half of the season had gone another way, really if the last two years had been different I wouldn’t be this annoyed trying to get blood out of a stone at this point. I’m not counting on the role playing schleps to do anything, but the veterans and best players have to step up if this team’s going to actually show some fight at home, where they haven’t been all that great this year either.